CIBOLO — Kalmar RT Center LLC officials like to say their 118,000-pound rough-terrain vehicle can go just about anywhere, operating in up to 5 feet of water or driving up steep inclines to maneuver shipping containers in harsh environments.

Now the company is going somewhere it hasn't been before: the commercial market.

For the first time, the Cibolo manufacturer is moving beyond the U.S. military and is offering its logistics equipment for sale to businesses. And the company has its eye on the shale drilling boom, hoping that the oil and gas industry can use its vehicle to deliver equipment and supplies needed in remote oil patches.

“We've been trying to keep up with the demand for the one customer,” said Randy Wingenroth, vice president of product and business development. “It's just never been offered commercially, but there's a lot of application for it in the commercial world.”

Kalmar has been making about 12 of its rough terrain container handlers each month from its 13.6-acre Cibolo facility.

The move to its 13.6-acre site in Cibolo in 2008 meant 160 local jobs, and Cibolo Economic Development Director Mark Luft said that as Kalmar diversifies its customer base, he hopes the company continues to add employees.

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Kalmar is hiring for a few more production jobs, but doesn't have plans for a large hiring boost at this time.

“The product line can support other industry bases that you can't even imagine,” Luft said. “They've got a phenomenal product, and they're going to grow.”

Kalmar's equipment has been used in places such as post-hurricane Haiti for relief efforts.

The company's rough-terrain forklift, which can lift 5,000 pounds and fits into a shipping container, also is being offered for commercial sales. Wingenroth said the company in 2011 was awarded an army contract for the forklift, and in January will start producing 35 of those per month.

The reach stacker can stack containers — the kind used on ships and trains worldwide — three high and two deep and lifts 53,000 pounds. It was developed for the military, which moves much of its equipment and supplies by container, and needed a vehicle that could operate in uneven terrain. It costs about $1 million.

The machines are transportable by rail, truck or plane, and were designed to be able to fit inside a C-17 or C-5, as well as the Russian-built Antonov An-124. It has a top speed of 23 miles per hour and a width of about 12 feet, so it can drive down the road if needed, although the 6-foot tires would make it an intimidating presence. A “crab steering” feature allows the driver to move diagonally.

And it breaks down in a matter of minutes for transport, “like a Transformer,” Wingenroth said. The company recently made its first commercial-market sale to Toll Group, an Asian logistics company that will use four of the Kalmar reach stackers on Barrow Island off the northwest coast of Australia. Chevron Australia is developing the Gorgon gas fields there, and Kalmar had to meticulously clean the vehicles and wrap them in plastic before shipping them so as not to bring any foreign dirt or bugs to the island, which is a nature reserve.

Wingenroth thinks there's a large potential customer base for the reach stacker as the world gets more “containerized” and more industries move things by standard shipping containers. The vehicle has sling and forklift attachments.

Kalmar, which was later purchased by Cargotec, developed the reach stackers in conjunction with the Department of Defense in 1999. Production of the reach stackers was moved from Kalmar's Sweden facility to Cibolo in 2008.